The Choice
by Newbie04
Summary: Post Mockingjay (Au). Peeta was restrained in capitol. Katniss returned home alone and healed with haymitch's help. Gale stayed in district two to help survivors of nut n he didn't have anything to do with prim's death. Few years later. Gale returned to find Katniss. A year later they were engaged. Few months after their engagement Peeta returned frm Capitol. The story starts here
1. Chapter 1

**Peeta POV**

Peeta stared at Katniss without reserve. No matter how pretty she looked in his memory, it could never compare to the woman before him, and he'd missed her every second he'd been away. Her clothes were the usual mix of professional and sexy, the knee-length skirt stirred by the slight breeze outside the seam school.

"Hey."

Coming out of whatever state of shock his sudden appearance had brought on, Katniss smiled and stepped closer. Her smile was radiant, much more than the sunlight.

"I didn't expect you back so soon."

"Didn't find much comfort in Capitol Hospitals." he thought"(*I couldn't stay away*)" "Besides, I missed this place." (*I missed you*)

"Look at you..." Katniss's hand gently grazed his now-bare cheek.

Without thinking, Peeta caught her hand, releasing it a moment later with a shrug. "Like it? thought a 5'o'Clock shadow would help me grow out of my 'The Boy' image."

She smiled and let her hand fall back to her side. "You look good."

Trying not to let on how much the compliment meant, Peeta replied, "Thanks." Without thinking, he stepped closer. "I missed you."

Katniss looked down, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "Peeta-"

He lifted her chin with one finger and kissed her, gently at first, unsure of her reaction. For a few seconds, he honestly expected to be slapped senseless. To his surprise, her hands were soon in his hair and she was holding him as close as he was her. The sensation of actually doing what he had imagined so many times was overwhelming: her touch, her scent, her warmth all surrounded him.

And then it was over. Katniss stood a few feet away, hand covering her mouth, mumbling something to the effect of "I'm sorry" and backing away. Peeta reached out for her, but she disappeared into the Crowd.

(*Damn. Knew it couldn't be that easy*)

 **Gale Pov**

Gale slid the auto repair book back into its place on the shelf and glanced out the window, doing a double-take when he saw Katniss talking with a familiar man.

(*That guy looks so familiar ... where do I know him from? ... Peeta!*)

He felt his chest constrict when he saw Katniss's hand reaching out to touch Peeta's bare cheek.

(*Chill out, Gale. It's a perfectly innocent gesture. You trust Katniss even if you'd rather blast Peeta than have him anywhere near her*)

Gale forced back the little voice warning him that he should trust his gut instinct, that nothing involving Peeta could ever be innocent.

(*Why am I watching this? I'm not that insecure about Dough Boy, am I?*)

Suddenly Peeta moved closer to Katniss. Gale knew with perfect clarity what he intended. (*But Katniss's gonna stop him. right ?*). She remained in place, though Gale could see her glance down at the ground before Peeta lifted her chin. (*C'mon, Catnip, stop him*) Before Gale's mind could process the fact that Katniss had yet to back away, Peeta kissed her. (*I'm gonna kill him!*) And Katniss kissed him back. Gale could see her arms sliding around his neck.

He fell back into the desk chair, almost unable to breathe, heart still to the point of stopping.

(*She kissed him.*)

He repeated the phrase over and over silently, not trusting his eyes alone. Finally, Katniss did pull away, shaking her head and covering her mouth with her hand. Gale saw her retreating toward the the seam.

(*Might as well get this over with.*)

 **Katniss POV**

Katniss staggered into the school, mind reeling. She could almost feel Peeta's lips on hers, and it wasn't helping anything. Suddenly Katniss knew she wasn't alone in the hallway. "Gale!" It came out as more of an exclamation than she'd intended, and she knew her voice was as unsteady as she felt.

"What is it?" (*Oh, God, he knows.*)

"I was at the window."

She felt her breath catch in her throat. "Oh, God... Gale-"

"Don't." Reaching out, he took her left hand and slid off the engagement ring that rested there. "You're free. Do whatever you want." he clenched his fist and he turned away.

(*Stop standing here like an idiot. You're losing him!*) "Gale! Wait!"

He shook his head and hurried down the hall, sending, (*Don't, Katniss. Not now.*)

Katniss fled to the first place she thought of, Haymitch's House. He was with Effie, and she needed to be alone quickly. As soon as she shoved open the door, Katniss fell against the nearest wall, letting the door slide shut on its own.

(*Why did I let this happen?*)

Tears flowed down her face and she fought to get a grip on her own thoughts.

(*What am I feeling? Why can I tell everyone else what's happening in their mind and not my own?*)

The door clicked open and she jumped with a gasp. Haymitch entered the room, brow furrowed.

" Sweetheart? What is it? I could see you running away distressed halfway across the town."

Unable to speak, she held out her bare left hand, the pale band of skin where the engagement ring used to be painfully apparent. "I see. What happened?"

Before Katniss could answer, the door opened again and Peeta stepped inside. Instantly, Haymitch's expression became one of understanding, his suspicions confirmed when Katniss gazed steadfastly at the carpet beneath her feet rather than look at Peeta. "Could you return later? I believe we need a moment."

"Yeah. Sure. I just wanted to make sure Katniss's okay."

"She will be." With a tight nod, Peeta ducked out again. "I see. I'm not going to ask what happened. I can figure out enough without knowing the specifics." His tone wasn't accusing or angry, merely maddeningly rational. "So Sweetheart, What do you intend to do?"

"I don't... I... Haymitch, how am I supposed to decide anything when I can't..." Katniss took a deep breath and tried desperately to clear her head. "I just want to be alone."

"Perhaps you should stay here for time being. There is a room down the far hall that is more or less isolated. Might that help?"

Katniss nodded and swallowed past the roughness of her throat. "Yes." (*I hope.*)


	2. Chapter 2

**Few hours Later**

 **Kantiss Pov**

A soft knock at the door pulled Katniss out of the light meditative state she'd managed to attain after two hours of controlled breathing and consciously clearing her mind. She rose with a sigh, padding to the door in her socks and long nightshirt. "Who is it?"

"Me."

(*Peeta. Shit.*)

Katniss opened the door just enough to look through the crack. "Look, this isn't-"

"Yeah." He nodded his agreement. "Just wanted to say... just..." Katniss had seen Peeta look nervous before and uncomfortable. His blue eyes finally lifted to hers. "I just want you to know it's more than just the kiss, alright? But whatever you decide, if you decide, it doesn't change the way I feel. You will always be that girl who sang her way into my heart. The Girl who saved my life in the arena" Nodding as if to confirm his own statement, Peeta walked away without another word.

Katniss closed the door, face blank, and went back to bed. And tried to sleep.

But sleep never Came.

…

It's daytime, but it still looks dark in my little room down the hall. It's something like my other room. But it's smaller. And colder. Or maybe that's my imagination. I can't tell anymore.

It's almost funny how surreal everything is. I sat at the window with the curtain pulled back today and watched the rain for the better part of four hours. Usually I love rainy days. I remember hunting with Gale after the war when we first started dating and making him walk with me in the rain. For a time while I watched the rain, it seemed that day hadn't been so long ago. It was years, though, really.

I wonder how long I've been sitting in this room, trying to think, to not think, to remember, to forget. It can't be more than a day or two. Or maybe a week. Everything is fuzzy, hazy like the clouds outside. Gray.

I can hear the school bells in distance Sometimes. So I know when classes end, When I See the kids run out of the School , free and without a care in the world, I feel a pang of pain in my heart as it reminds me of Prim. That gives me some idea of time. But not much. The minute the sounds are gone, I forget. Or I remember something else.

A clap of thunder rings out and I jump, despite having watched the flash of lightening shoot down only moments before. And thunder always follows lightening.

Cause and effect.

I remember the first time I tried to treat Peeta in the cave, i remember the way my heart pounded in my chest and the fear of losing him when he lay there barley moving, He was attacked because he tried to help me. He spoke about the time he first saw me, the time he fell in love with me, the time he heard me sing. No one apart from My family ever knew about me singing and yet he remembered the details like it was just yesterday, even though it might have seemed brief or insincere to someone else, I could tell he meant it. Peeta was the most honest person alive and he never tells anything he doesn't mean.

"I just want you to know it's more than just the kiss, alright? But whatever you decide, if you decide, it doesn't change the way I feel."

I rub the back of my arms with my hands and try to force his words from my mind, at least for now. They just make it harder to think. At least the room isn't as cold now. Maybe the rain will stop too.

Back in bed again. Not sleeping. I actually can't remember the last time I slept without a nightmare. Maybe I haven't. Maybe I always had them. Before the games it was about the mining explosion that killed dad. The only time I felt safe to sleep without worry …. Was in safety of his arms. I can't get my mind to be quiet long enough to relax, to let sleep come

Of course, the thinking itself is even harder than the trying not to think. It hurts more. I wish I could be removed from it all. Not just down the hall from everything and everyone but outside it, beyond it, above it. No longer part of life. At least not of my life. I have a decision to make, and I can't even begin to make it.

How do I choose between the man I've known for years and the man I'm falling in love with?

Falling in love with ? ...

God, I didn't even realize that until I thought about it.

I am falling for him.

or I fell for him long ago , years ago on that rainy day like today. i fell for him on

The day he gave with the Bread that saved my life and my entire family.

The day he Became MY boy with the Bread.

My thoughts started to get ahead of me and out of my control as i unwillingly processed the situation.

and maybe again on the next day when i realized he became my Dandelion.

But after that day i had already started to build walls to keep people away from my heart and somehow he got stuck at that wall , neither inside my heart but also not out of it completely

then it happened. the games happened. and his name was called. Then the walls started to crumble and erode away. The more time i spent with him the more confused my head had become ... JUST LIKE NOW !

Dammit. That's why I try not to think. It just makes things worse. I roll over, close my eyes, and pray for sleep.

But My mind is still not at ease and keeps me awake.

Gale , the one who help me survive before the games, is my best friend.

Peeta, is the reason i survived ... I survived my Dad's death because of his bread and then i survives the games because of him too. He is my ... Boy with the bread ... And ...

What is he to me ?

Ugh!... I need it to stop thinking, at least for a little while.


	3. Chapter 3

**Gale POV**

I don't know when she'll come back , She must intend to come back...

Gale looked around the room and sighed, So much of her remains...

So, she can't be really gone …. She can never leave me … right?

Gale leaned against the pillows propped up on the headboard of the bed and sighed.

(*She's been gone for three days, locked up in that damn room in Haymitch's house.*)

He knew better than to go to her, to try to convince her she belonged back here, in their room, back with him. Even though they never slept together, they did share the same bed and he was there every night when she woke up from her nightmare ... sometimes calling out his name

(*After all, I was the one who took back the damn engagement ring*)

The ring sat glistening on her nightstand beside a half-finished book.

(*She has to come back*)

Gale's own half-finished application to join district two's Military lay on his lap, all but forgotten. Any attempt at doing anything but think about Katniss failed more often than not.

(*What if she doesn't come back? If I'm this bad after three days, how would I survive a week? A month?*)

The concept of years was too horrible to contemplate.

"She'll come back," he assured the still room. "She has to."

Truthfully, he was less than convinced.

(*I can't let myself think that way! Why would she stay with me for all these years if she didn't love me?*)

He threw the book to the floor in a sudden surge of anger.

(*Peeta wasn't here before. That's the difference. Damn him!. He should have died in first games*)

Gale took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

(*It's all Peeta's fault. I don't see why he had to lie during his first interview. he didn't have to kiss her. And she didn't have to like it.*)

Tears and rage threatened to surface again, and he fought them. (*Self-pity is a little premature. I hope. God, I hope she will realize I am the only one for her*)

Turning off the light and laying the pillows down again, Gale closed his eyes and prepared for another night of pretending to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Peeta POV**

I've been waiting around for her all night and our warm kiss was on my mind

I Knew I've got A piece of her heart, But I want the whole damn thing.

I've been waiting around here all these years. Holding on to the memories I recovered after my treatment. I became more confident and most of my trauma of past were reconciled with.

But now My hands are tied...and I'm a lot afraid that it may hurt too much, when she makes her choice

Maybe I shouldn't have gone to see Katniss that first night, but I had to talk to her. I wanted to talk to her. I needed her to listen too. More than that, for one last time ... I had to say thay ...,

I love her.

I can't remember feeling for anyone the way I feel about her. I probably have. Or maybe not. I can't imagine anybody else, any other woman, getting under my skin like this, making me feel like this. It's not something I can put my finger on, either. It's some nebulous, amazing force that makes Katniss stronger, smarter, more beautiful than any other woman alive or dead.

It Scares me knowing I can finally relate with Gale about something. I just wish we didn't feel the same way about the same girl. It's tearing' her apart, and I know that's mostly my fault. I could've stayed away and maybe she would've forgotten about me eventually. Her and Gale could've gotten married and been happy and never thought about me again. They'd been happy so far, no reason they wouldn't have stayed that way.

Life's never that simple.

I couldn't stay away from her, so I came back. I couldn't keep my hands off of her, so I kissed her. And she kissed me back. And now everything's torn apart and turned upside-down.

I caught Haymitch was halfway drunk and yet studying me like I was a bug under a microscope when we met the other day. He was staring straight through me. Strange thing is, I didn't get any sense that he was mad at me or even upset. He was just... curious, I guess. Weird. But he isn't the kind of guy I'd want to have lectured me, so that works out pretty well. I guess he can't figure out why Katniss was still on my mind after all this time.

I can.

So it's all up to the woman I love to weight it all out and see whose heart she wants to break. I wish there was a way I could take the burden off of her shoulders so she could leave that damn little room and live her life, but I know she's the only one who can decide what she wants …. who she wants.

So we wait. He thought.

I have waited for all these years, so what's a few more days going to be like ….

He answered his own question …. They will be excruciating

 **To Be Continued… well it will … based on the reviews I guess …**

 **So how is this story. Were the characters bit OOC? Do leave a review.**


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